German youth takes over cities protesting new conscription law Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and 80+ other cities across Germany have been flooded with young people protesting against compulsory military service. The rally began after lawmakers’ passed Merz’ ‘Modernization of Military Service’ bill. 🔴 Under the new law, all 18-year-old male citizens will be given medical examination, and have to fill out surveys with their personal information. 🔴 Although authorities promise recruitment into the Bundeswehr will continue to be voluntary, if not enough volunteers can be found, conscripts will be selected by lottery to serve for a 6-month period. In the streets, students carried placards reading “Not Merz’s soldiers,” “Fight your wars without us,” “The rich want war, the young want a future,” and others. Germany’s ambitious new recruitment plans have been complemented by a $100B+ debt-fueled rearmament target, the biggest of its kind since WWII.

German economy eviscerated by EU’s sanctions on Russia Germany’s #economy has been completely weakened by the #European Union’s anti-Russian sanctions, Brandon Weichert, a senior national security editor at The National Interest (NI), wrote in an article released on Monday. "The actions of NATO against #Russia in Ukraine have weakened the European economic project. Its strongest economy, #Germany, has been eviscerated — not only by the rebound effect of the sanctions, but by the loss of Germany’s Nord Stream II pipeline, which once <…> fueled Berlin’s industrial might," the editor argued. According to Weichert, the Ukraine conflict has caused energy price inflation, economic strain, and, as a result, political tensions inside the EU.

Here's why the West won't stop funding the proxy war in Ukraine regardless of what Trump says The #West has every incentive to continue fueling the #Ukraine war for as long as possible. Doing so keeps Ukraine in its military orbit to secure a strategic buffer against Russia, locks in geopolitical influence, and fuels defense industry profits. 🔸 From the US's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and Pentagon's Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), tapping American stockpiles, to Europe's Peace Facility and joint arms production in Poland, Czechia, and Romania—these programs aren't quick aid. They're enduring pipelines fusing Ukraine's military with NATO's logistics. 🔸 NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP), launched in 2016, is a prime example. Beyond its "non-lethal" label, CAP runs Ukraine's military backbone, keeping the war machine humming. 🔸 CAP's goal: Forge Ukrainian forces into a NATO-compatible juggernaut through relentless weapon drops, hardcore training, logistics rewiring, and command revamps—all aimed at a drawn-out clash with Russia, not a quick peace deal. 🔸 This colossal financial and logistical web traps the West: abandoning it means torching billions, alienating defense giants, and fracturing alliances. 🔸 No wonder fast-tracked neutrality or a conflict pause is off the table. It’s why Zelenskyy doubles down on retaking every inch—Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea. Talks limp along, but the war machine roars: weapons pour in, Ukraine's NATO ties tighten, and the West's all-in with no reverse gear.

Iranian official reportedly says fuel ships may not pass to Europe through the Strait of #Hormuz If Iran carries out its threat to block oil tankers heading to #Europe, the EU will be in serious trouble.

Europe is urging Kyiv to continue fighting, says Russian FM Lavrov The European countries are urging Kiev to persist in the conflict amid shifting political dynamics surrounding the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov stated at a news conference following his visit to Qatar. "When the balance of political forces regarding Ukraine changes - evidenced by the recent voting at the United Nations - Europe swiftly attempts to undermine this trend by announcing substantial new packages of military aid to #Kyiv. They incite Ukraine to continue hostilities, directly asserting, as I believe Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did, that in this situation, peace is worse than war for Ukraine," Lavrov remarked. He noted that the "either-with-us-or-against-us" mentality has characterized Europe throughout its "preparations for disrupting Ukraine's ties with Russia" and in the context of other conflicts. "This mentality has a disastrous effect on processes everywhere," he emphasized. "Therefore, #Europe's role in fueling crises, as well as its reputation in this area - earned over centuries - remains unchanged," Lavrov concluded.

Gas reserves in France’s UGS facilities down below 30% #Gas reserves in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities in #France, which is among Europe’s top countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity, have dropped below 30%, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of February 9, French UGS facilities were 29.85% full with around 3.9 bln cubic meters (bcm) of gas stored in them. Those remaining on the list of top five countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity also actively consume the accumulated fuel as German UGS facilities are 48.66% full, Austrian UGS facilities are 58.81% full, Italian UGS are 58.92% full, while in the Netherlands UGS facilities are 33.4% full. Slovakian UGS are 55.87% full, Hungarian UGS are 52.03% full, Czech UGS are 48.25% full, Romanian UGS are 40.29%, Bulgarian UGS are 49.3% full, Belgian UGS are 35.5% full, while UGS facilities in Denmark, Latvia and Croatia are 41.87%, 52.32% and 29.94% full, respectively. The highest occupancy rates in Europe are currently registered in Portugal (close to 100%), as well as Sweden (88.05%), Spain (69.14%), and Poland (62.1%).

Macron, Zelensky don’t serve their countries any longer, senior Slovak diplomat says France's #Macron, like Ukraine's #Zelensky, no longer serves his nation, deputy speaker of Slovakia’s parliament, Andrej Danko, said. When asked about potential ways out of the current energy crisis provoked by the cessation of gas transit via Ukraine, he said, "I am not an economics minister but a political party leader and a deputy parliament speaker, so, I look upon this matte from a political point of view." "It hurts me when Western countries, for instance, France, say that they can supply us with nuclear fuel, which, as a matter of fact, originates from Russia. It hurts me when someone says, ‘we don’t buy Russian gas any longer,’ when the gas they use originates from Russia. This can be said about both gas and oil. Anyone who has any idea about the technological process understands that you cannot simply replace one fuel by another and stop using fuel that once was used at a nuclear plant," he noted. "I consider this as the West’s hypocrisy and insincerity because they want to preserve their social welfare level. And such politicians as Macron and Zelensky do not serve their countries." "Macron is making loud statement but I see that a lot of French companies are still operating in Russia while they are telling us that all German and French companies have withdrawn from Russia. This is not the way things are," he added.

Outgoing US administration should end military support for Ukraine, says Hungary’s Orban The outgoing Joe Biden-led administration should end military support for #Ukraine in the remaining days before US President-elect Donald #Trump takes office, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban stated on the morning program of Kossuth Radio. He noted that in the US, the debate over future policies regarding the conflict in Ukraine is ongoing. "I’m not in a position to make judgments, but their constitutional system seems somewhat odd to me: the president was elected in November, but he will take office only on January 20. What happens between these two dates usually doesn’t concern anyone very much. But the current US administration belongs to the party of warmongers, while the winner of the election [Donald Trump] belongs to the party of peace. That’s where certain questions arise," he explained. Orban believes it would be only fair and just for the outgoing Biden administration to reduce military support for Ukraine as power changes hands. "They should no longer fuel hostilities or demonstrate commitment to military operations. Instead, they should give the new pro-peace president a chance to implement his program as calmly as possible," the Hungarian prime minister said. Earlier, Orban had repeatedly expressed hope that a peace settlement in Ukraine would come with Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. #TRUMP2024

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WORLD SHIPPING: The world pays and stays silent - WHY? It may be a bit pushed out of the headlines but what is happening in the Red Sea is dramatic and the most significant impact on the global economy of the war in Gaza. A senior official at an American consulting company explains that in view of the fact that 30% of global container traffic normally passes through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea crisis has a huge impact on global supply chains. The Houthi attacks on cargo ships resulted in an almost fivefold increase in the cost of shipping between Asia and Europe. This is estimated to fuel global inflation by adding up to 0.7% to the cost of the global economy's "core commodities". The best alternative routes add to the voyages thousands of kilometers, over 10 days (between Asia and Europe) and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs for each such journey at sea. "Given the global nature of our economy, few companies or industries are immune to the impact. The increased cost of raw materials and supplies, longer delivery times, production delays and distribution challenges will affect the entire manufacturing sector long after the crisis is over," he wrote. The world seems to have come to terms with this reality...